Foxconn Reiterates Q2 Revenue to Grow, Posts Record April Sales

Foxconn shareholders look at wafers on display after the annual shareholder meeting in New Taipei City, Taiwan May 31, 2023. REUTERS/Ann Wang/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Foxconn shareholders look at wafers on display after the annual shareholder meeting in New Taipei City, Taiwan May 31, 2023. REUTERS/Ann Wang/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
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Foxconn Reiterates Q2 Revenue to Grow, Posts Record April Sales

Foxconn shareholders look at wafers on display after the annual shareholder meeting in New Taipei City, Taiwan May 31, 2023. REUTERS/Ann Wang/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Foxconn shareholders look at wafers on display after the annual shareholder meeting in New Taipei City, Taiwan May 31, 2023. REUTERS/Ann Wang/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

Taiwan's Foxconn, the world's largest contract electronics maker and the biggest assembler of Apple's iPhone, reiterated on Sunday it expected a rise in second-quarter revenue, and reported record sales for the month of April. Foxconn (2317.TW), said in a statement that this year's second quarter "remains a traditional off-peak season, and major products are entering a period of transition between old and new products".

But it added: "The operations outlook for the second quarter is expected to show both quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year growth".

The statement did not elaborate and the company does not give numerical guidance, Reuters reported.

The company, formally called Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, said April revenue reached T$510.9 billion ($15.83 billion), which it said was the highest figure on record for the same period and represented an on-year rise of 19%.

Revenue in its smart consumer electronics products, including smartphones, in April showed "significant growth" year-on-year, it said.

Strong artificial intelligence (AI) server demand also delivered "strong growth" in April on-year for its cloud and networking products segment, the company added.

The monthly sales data comes ahead of Foxconn's first-quarter earnings call on May 14.

Foxconn has previously reported that for the first quarter, revenue slid 9.6% year-on-year to T$1.322 trillion, underperforming a T$1.401 trillion LSEG SmartEstimate, which gives greater weight to forecasts from analysts who are more consistently accurate.

The first quarter is traditionally quieter than the previous one, the season when Taiwan's tech companies race to supply smartphones, tablets and other electronics to major vendors such as Apple for Western markets' year-end holiday period.

Apple's (AAPL.O) quarterly results and forecast beat modest expectations on Thursday, and CEO Tim Cook said revenue growth would return in the current quarter.

In March, Foxconn adopted a far more bullish outlook for this year, saying on its fourth-quarter earnings call that it expected a significant rise in revenue driven by booming demand for AI servers.

Foxconn's shares have surged almost 50% so far this year, compared with a 13% gain for the broader market (.TWII.)



Google to Discount Cloud Computing Services for US Government, FT Reports

FILED - 09 January 2024, US, Las Vegas: The Google logo is pictured on the Internet company's pavilion at the CES technology trade fair in Las Vegas. Photo: Andrej Sokolow/dpa
FILED - 09 January 2024, US, Las Vegas: The Google logo is pictured on the Internet company's pavilion at the CES technology trade fair in Las Vegas. Photo: Andrej Sokolow/dpa
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Google to Discount Cloud Computing Services for US Government, FT Reports

FILED - 09 January 2024, US, Las Vegas: The Google logo is pictured on the Internet company's pavilion at the CES technology trade fair in Las Vegas. Photo: Andrej Sokolow/dpa
FILED - 09 January 2024, US, Las Vegas: The Google logo is pictured on the Internet company's pavilion at the CES technology trade fair in Las Vegas. Photo: Andrej Sokolow/dpa

Google will heavily discount cloud computing services for the United States government, in a deal that could be finalized within weeks, the Financial Times reported on Friday, amid President Donald Trump's efforts to implement sweeping measures to minimize federal spending.

The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Oracle will offer federal agencies a 75% discount on its license-based software and a "substantial" discount on its cloud service through the end of November.

Google's cloud contract is likely "to land in a similar spot", the Financial Times said, citing a senior official at the General Services Administration, adding that equivalent discounts from Microsoft's Azure and Amazon Web Services are expected to follow soon.

"Every single of those companies is totally bought in, they understand the mission," the senior official told the newspaper. "We will get there with all four players."

Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

Google and the General Services Administration did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment outside regular business hours.

In April, Google agreed to offer a 71% discount till September 30 to US federal agencies for its business apps package that could generate up to $2 billion in cost savings if there is government-wide adoption.